Mythology
by eiahmon
Summary: A tale of two brothers. Just a bit of mythology background for Kingdom Hearts.


**A/N: So I was wondering the other day at work; why is it that Xehanort has such an odd name when the other people that we meet from the Destiny Islands do not? Really, who names their kid Xehanort anyway? So I thought that maybe he was named after someone, and this is the result. This was supposed to be a short intro to a birth and childhood story about Xehanort, but it quickly grew into a story all of its own.**

In the beginning, there was the sun and the moon, floating opposite each other in the endless void. They watched each other, and, in time, they began to love each other, and they conceived a set of twin boys.

The firstborn had hair as white as his mother's body and skin as pale as her light, while his eyes were as yellow as his father's warmth. As his mother held him, he looked up at her and laughed, and in the void between his parents a speck of light was born, a small world of water, with waves that rolled and moved endlessly with the wind. As his mother held and suckled him, his brother was born. This second son had golden hair that looked as though it had been spun from their father's light, skin that was a golden hue, and eyes that were as dark as his mother's shadow. He cried upon his birth, and in the small world that his brother had created, land rose from the water in the form of a small chain of islands.

The moon held and fed her children as their father looked on with pride. The second son, favored by the sun, was named Xehas.

The firstborn, favored by the moon, was named Xehanort.

**OOOOOO**

The brothers were inseparable as they grew. They played on the small world that they had created, chased each other through the soft sand, raced across the water, and hid in the nooks and crannies of the mountains. Xehanort had an affinity for water and the sea, and its waves and currents obeyed his every whim. The rocks, dirt, and sand of the islands obeyed Xehas, and the pair often used their powers in endless games, neither gaining a clear lead over the other. When they grew tired, they slept, sometimes basking in their father's warmth, sometimes curling up together in the cool darkness of their mother's shadow.

Soon they grew bored with the barren emptiness of their little world, and they used their powers to fill it with life. Trees, grass, flowers, and palms were born from Xehas' will, while fish, dolphins, coral, and whales were born from Xehanort's. The animals and plants became playmates, and their parents watched with amusement as the games continued and grew more elaborate, though they were still equally matched, which prevented one from gaining dominion over the other.

As they left their boyhood behind and grew into adolescence, the brothers' love and friendship grew into something more, and, lacking others to be with, they became lovers and partners. They spent many days and nights on the beaches of their world making love on the warm sand as the cool salty water washed around them. Out of their love and desire, two new things were created: the Paopu Tree, and the Thalassa shell.

More time passed, and the brothers decided that they wanted to add more to the world, and, using themselves and models, created a race of people that greatly resembled them, though the hair and eye colors varied greatly. They sat back and watched the people go about their lives on the islands, and they enjoyed playing with them, creating earthquakes to shake their structures to the ground and creating giant waves that swept them out to sea. Xehanort and Xehas were still devoted to each other, and they spent many days and nights pleasuring each other and just enjoying being together.

But, just as they were beginning to grow from boys into adults, something changed.

While wandering the islands during a rare moment alone, Xehanort came across a beautiful sight. It was a human girl, just coming into womanhood, and her delicate, lithe body with her creamy skin, vibrant red hair, and sparkling eyes the color of the ocean captivated him. He followed her across the island as she walked towards the beach where he and his brother had spent so much time in each others arms, and once they were there, he took her into his arms and made her his. He passed the night with her, and he departed as his father's eye rose above the horizon, so he wouldn't be caught.

But Xehas had seen. Shocked and hurt over Xehanort's unfaithfulness, he went to their father in tears. Furious at his older son for the pain he had caused the younger, the sun summoned Xehanort to him, and punished the child fiercely. The heat of his anger burned Xehanort's skin, turning it a much darker hue that Xehas' and darkening his eyes from yellow to brown. The sun beat the boy, and it wasn't until night fell on the islands that Xehanort was able to escape his father and run, sobbing in pain, to his mother.

The moon gathered her battered and burned child to her body and cradled him gently in her arms. Her voice soothed his tears, while her soft silver light eased his pain. Once he was quiet and calm, she laid him down to sleep and heal in her shadow.

Once he was well, he apologized to his brother and swore to always be faithful to him. Xehas also apologized; he had not intended for their father to hurt Xehanort. The incident was then tucked away and forgotten about.

Time passed, and Xehanort and Xehas remained faithful to each other, though they no longer toyed with the mortals as much. The games of childhood had fallen away, though they still spent much of their time on their islands together. If the humans noticed the two strangers sharing a Paopu fruit or making talismans out of Thalassa shells, they did not approach them.

By then, both had grown into strong, beautiful adults. Xehanort, with his skin and eyes still darkened from his father's anger, had long white hair that reached past his shoulders in waves reminiscent of the ocean that he controlled. He was tall, lean, yet strong, and he knew that many of the women on the islands gave him appreciative glances when he was near them. Xehas looked very much like his twin, though his hair was still spun gold, his skin was lighter, and his eyes were as dark as empty space. He too, received his fair share of looks from the women, but he paid them no mind. His heart and body belonged to his brother.

Xehanort loved Xehas with his heart and soul, but he found the human women nice to look at, and he admitted to himself that he enjoyed their looking at him. So when he spotted another vision of loveliness, this one with hair as dark as Xehas' eyes and skin as pale as the moon's light, he found himself entranced. He stayed away from the woman for quite a long time, not wishing to be unfaithful to his brother a second time, but he was unable to get her out of him mind, and the urge to make her his only grew stronger.

Finally, one night while his brother was visiting with their father, Xehanort crept into the young woman's home and found her in her bed, and he made sweet gentle love to her throughout the night, while she clung to him and cried out and shuddered with the pleasure that he brought her. He left her in the early morning before the sun rose, never intending to return, despite her pleas for him to stay. He then bathed himself in the ocean and met Xehas on the beach, where the two of them passed the day in each other's company. Despite feeling the warmth of Xehas' body beside him and the the explosion of pleasure that his twin brought him to later, Xehanort was unable to forget the time he had spent with the human woman, and a few days later, with his brother distracted, he returned to her and again spent the night with her.

For the next two years, Xehanort carefully split his time between his brother and the human woman, whose name, he found out, was Sasha. He was careful, visiting her only during the night when his father was asleep or visiting with the moon or with the sun, and he left before his father's eye rose in the morning sky. The moon knew what her son was doing, but Xehanort knew that she would say nothing.

Xehanort still loved his brother fiercely, but as time passed, he felt love blossom and grow in his heart for Sasha as well, and he was torn. He truly loved Xehas and didn't want to hurt him, and he felt guilty every time he was with Sasha, especially when they were in bed together. But, he loved Sasha too, her gentle smile and sparkling eyes, and the way she would greet him with a hug and a peck on the cheek. He enjoyed being in her company the same way he enjoyed being in his brother's company, and the conflicting feelings within him sometimes made him want to cry. He loved them both, and he knew that he should chose his brother and leave Sasha behind, but he couldn't do it, especially after she greeted him with a wide smile one night and excitedly told him that she was quick with child.

_His _child.

Xehanort's thoughts broke into panicked circles at the news. How was he going to explain it? How would his parents and brother react? His brother would be heartbroken and quite possibly angry, and there was no doubt that the sun would be furious. Would he simply beat and burn Xehanort again, or would he harm Sasha and the child as well? Xehanort shuddered at the though of harm coming to Sasha or the child and forced his thoughts away from that direction. Instead he smiled warmly at Sasha, swept her up into his arms, and spun her around, while she laughed in delight. He would just have to work extra hard to keep things a secret.

But Xehanort had miscalculated.

He and Xehas had been together their entire lives, first as brothers and friends, then as lovers. They knew each other intimately, and something about his behavior made Xehas suspicious, so one night, he stated that he was going to visit their father, and once Xehanort had gone off on his own, he followed him. He tracked his brother to a small house on one of the islands, and a careful look through the windows made his heart shatter into a thousands pieces.

Xehanort was inside, seated close to a human woman, and one of his hands was resting on her belly, which was swollen with the life that she was carrying. As Xehas watched, he gently caressed the skin over her womb, and then he kissed her tenderly. Xehas shook his head in denial as tears rolled down his face as Xehanort carefully laid the woman down. He entered her slowly, gently, and he whispered her name over and over again as he moved within her, and Xehas stuffed his fist into his mouth to stifle the cries that wanted to come out as he stumbled back away from the window. He half walked half crawled over to the treeline, where he collapsed to the ground, and he took comfort from the plants as they curled around him as he cried. Vines stroked his arms, branches gently threaded through his hair, and the very soil seemed to croon soothingly to him.

It wasn't until the dawn was lightening the sky that he heard the door to the simple wooden house open, and he sat up and wiped his eyes to see Xehanort standing on the front porch. He kissed the woman tenderly before he walked away. She smiled after him, and caressed her stomach as she walked back inside the house and closed the door.

The sound of the closing door snapped Xehas out of his grief and heartbreak, and darkness sprouted in his wounded heart as rage and betrayal bloomed. If... if Xehanort didn't want to be with him, then he would be with no one at all! Rising to his feet, he stalked to the house and stormed in. The fragile wooden door was no match for him, and it splintered apart as his touch. The pregnant woman inside screamed with fear as he stormed over to her, grabbed her by the throat, and threw her down onto the nearest piece of furniture. She screamed again as he forced her legs apart and entered her. He would ravish her, ruin her, and make it so his brother would never want to touch her again. She screamed a third time as he took her hard, unmindful of the damage he was doing or the pain he was causing, and he struck her across her face, wanting to merely silence her, but once he had started, he couldn't stop as his rage slipped his fragile control. He struck her again, and again, and again, until her face was an unrecognizable mess, but somehow, she was still alive. He laughed as he looked at he ruin of her face; his brother would never want her now! He then felt her life fade and flicker out as he emptied himself inside of her with a pleasured scream.

Xehas laughed again as he looked at the lifeless corpse of the bitch that had stolen his brother from him, and then his eyes fell upon her swollen stomach. A maniacal grin crossed his face; there was still one more life to take. Xehanort would be devastated! It was a simple matter to tear the womb open and expose the child within. After snapping the umbilical cord, Xehas gleefully carried the baby out of the house and over to the water well, where he tossed it in. He heard a splash and laughed again as he walked away.

But Xehas had miscalculated.

Xehanort claimed dominion over the sea, but his affinity was for all water, be it fresh, salt, evaporated into the air, or frozen into ice. So the instant his child landed in the water of the well, he knew, and he rushed to the spot. A column of clear water gently pushed the child up from the bottom of the well, and Xehanort gathered his son into his arms and rose from the well to stand on the ground. The child was alive, and its distressed cries echoed through the early morning air as Xehanort carried it in his arms towards the house.

What he found inside was horrific.

The bloody ruin that had once been the woman he loved was sprawled out on the table, her face unrecognizable, her womb torn open. Her legs were spread open, and her lower lips were bruised, swollen and bleeding, showing that she had been violently taken. Xehanort stared at her in shock and horror for the longest moment, before he turned and walked silently out of the house. He wandered the beaches in a daze, without seeing where he was going, and without hearing the crying of his son.

It wasn't until his father's eye closed for the day, and his mother's eye rose in the sky, that he began to think again. With its mother dead, he knew he could not care for his son, and he would have to find a place for him to go. It was the moon that gave him the answer. Her silver light concentrated and shone brightly upon a small house that was had a black wreath on the front door. He opened the door easily and silently, where he found a family in mourning. An infant had died the previous day, and the funeral had been earlier. Xehanort slipped silently around the sleeping occupants of the home until he came to the basket in which the dead infant had slept. He kissed his son gently on the forehead, and then he laid him down in the basket. The tiny baby clung to his finger and cried when he turned to leave, and Xehanort was forced to blink his tears away and carefully pry the tiny fingers off of his own. He then reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out the talisman made of Thalassa shells in the shape of a Paopu fruit that his brother had made him. He carefully placed the trinket in the baby's hand, and the small hand clutched as Xehanort walked out of the house, and as he did, the grieving parents heard the cries and awoke.

Xehanort wandered across the island to the beach where he and his brother spent their time, and he found Xehas there, waiting on him. Seeing his twin standing by the water in their mother's light brought it all crashing down, and Xehanort collapsed against his twin, weeping, sick with grief. To his surprise, Xehas' arms did not come around him comfortingly like he expected. He looked up at his twin to see him smirking down at him, and Xehanort _knew _then. He knew who had brutally murdered Sasha, who had attempted to kill his son by throwing him into the well to drown.

Darkness appeared in Xehanort's heart then, as heartbreak gave way to rage and a desire for vengeance. Before Xehas could realize that he was in danger, the sea surged over the sand and washed him off of his feet. The clear sky above clouded and rain began to pour down as the most devastating storm in the islands' history was born out of Xehanort's rage. Xehas struggled to get out of the water, to reach the surface so he could breathe, but the relentless currents dragged him down and pinned him against the inundated beach. The water boiled and rolled in response to its master's fury, and Xehas tried desperately to raise the land up above the water, but no matter how fast the land rose, the water rose with it. Above him, the swirling winds whipped the sea into a massive storm surge that flooded the islands and washed the islanders and their homes away.

Xehanort dove down through the newborn hurricane, dove into the raging sea, down to where his brother was struggling on the sea floor against the torrent, and he smiled as Xehas struggled weakly to reach the surface and pleaded with his eyes for mercy, but there was no mercy to be had in Xehanort's heart as he allowed the darkness to consume him. He commanded the water to pin Xehas flat against the ocean bottom, to prevent him from moving in anyway, and once his younger twin was helpless and still, the water rushed into his lungs, rupturing the fragile tissue, as the water pressure crushed his bones and organs. As the life faded from his mangled body, his dark eyes met Xehanort's enraged brown eyes, and the sight of the light leaving Xehas' eyes abruptly drained Xehanort of his rage.

He came back to his senses, and the horror of what he done crashed down on him like the waves that had beaten his brother, and he dove down to the still form and gathered it into his arms. Above him, the storm abated, the skies cleared, the winds stilled, and the sea calmed, and Xehanort slowly rose to the surface to land on the beach, where he cradled his brother's body to him. He took scant notice of the new island that his brother had created during his struggle to reach the surface, a small mountain peak surrounded by a gently sloping shore. He also paid no attention to the devastated islands nearby, or the hundreds that were dead.

Finally, after an unknown stretch of time, Xehanort rose to his feet, and, carrying Xehas in his arms, he left the islands, to tell his parents of what he had done.

The moon was shocked and grieved, and she held Xehas' lifeless form to her and crooned to him, even as tears poured from her eyes. The sun only stared at his favored child for a moment, before he attacked his older son. His normally soft yellow light turned a fiery red, and he beat his child, kicked him, tortured him, and burned his skin from his body while Xehanort screamed in pain and begged for mercy. His father did not hear his pleas, instead he only punished the boy further. He tore all of Xehanort's hair out, taking what little skin remained with it, dried much of the water from his body, leaving him desperately thirsty but unable to drink, and slipped tendrils of his burning heat into every orifice, Xehanort's eyes, his nose, his mouth, his ears, his anus, and burned him from the inside.

The moon screamed at the sun, screamed for him not to kill their only remaining child, and finally the sun released Xehanort to collapse, nearly dead, at his mother's feet. As she gathered him to her, the sun cursed Xehanort, cursed him to forever wander in darkness, bereft on his father's light and warmth. The sun then turned his back to his oldest son, while the moon rocked and cradled him and coaxed him into drinking her tears to ease his painful thirst. With his eyes and ears destroyed, Xehanort could neither hear nor see his mother, and her arms around him caused his great pain due to his burns. She bathed him in silvery light, but she could not ease his pain, and he burst into great racking sobs as she held him. He sobbed out his pain as his mother tried to soothe him, and the few tears of grief, misery, and pain that he was able to shed scattered to the void around them and gave rise to other worlds.

Unable to see her child in such agony, the moon placed Xehanort in a deep sleep, so his heart and body could heal. She then placed him on her back, in the cool darkness of her shadow, safe from his father's sight.

**OOOOOO**

It is said that Xehanort sleeps on his mother's back still, and that is why she never shows her back to the world or to the sun. Some say that once he is healed, Xehanort will awaken from his sleep, and once he awakes, he will fight his father for vengeance over the suffering he endured. Some say that he will simply return to the islands to live out his life, while some say he will seek out his descendants, to do what, no one can agree on.

Some say it is Xehanort, and the son that he left behind, that is the source of the white hair that appears among the islanders. Even stranger is that the hair is sometimes accompanied by tanned skin and brown eyes, which is unusual for such pale hair. Xehanort's descendants, heirs to the power of the sea, seem to still walk the Destiny Islands today.

**OOOOOO**

***takes out Mythology Checklist***

**Celestial bodies somehow managing to have human looking children? Check.**

**Utterly bizarre creation story? Check.**

**Incest between siblings? Check.**

**God taking advantage of a human woman and her liking it? Check.**

**Rape of a mortal woman by a god? Check.**

**Extremely violent and/or cruel punishment lasting for eternity? Check. **

**Violence, drama, and other assorted nastiness? Check, check, and check. **

**Yup, this fits as a mythology story. XD**


End file.
